How far does the unmanned aerial vehicle in the anime, the "flying taxi" that can shuttle in the low air of the city, leave human society? The scenes from science fiction movies are becoming a reality. On March 18th, the world's first domestically developed "Air Taxi" Yihang EH216-S unmanned manned aircraft, which has obtained airworthiness certification, was launched on Taobao Industrial Products and unveiled at the Taobao Enterprise Service Procurement Festival. Triggering attention from multiple parties.
The poster news reporter learned that China's star company, Yihang Intelligence, has officially entered the Taobao Industrial Products store in the global eVTOL track. Two unmanned and manned aircraft products have been listed in the store, the most eye-catching of which is its flagship product, Yihang EH216-S, priced at 2.39 million yuan per aircraft. It has completed airworthiness certification and is conducting commercial trial runs worldwide.
It is understood that EH216-S can carry two people, with a length of 6.05 meters, a width of 5.73 meters, and a height of 1.93 meters, consisting of 16 propellers. For fully intelligent unmanned aerial vehicles, capable of vertical takeoff and landing without the need for a runway, mainly flying in low altitude airspace. The maximum range for a single flight is 30 kilometers in a straight line in the air, and the maximum flight speed can reach 130 kilometers per hour. Through the management of the ground command and dispatch system, multiple aircraft can complete orderly unmanned flight in the air.
Visually, the Yihang EH216-S resembles a helicopter with full propellers, but compared to traditional helicopters with individual rotors, the Yihang EH216-S has a total of 8 axes and up to 16 rotors, making it look like Dr. Octopus's tentacles from a distance. The biggest highlight of this aircraft is the use of a multi backup design concept for each key component, fully ensuring safe and smooth flight.
"There is still a big difference from the commonly perceived helicopters," said He Tianxing, Vice President of Yihang Intelligence. "Yihang's EH216-S is powered by multiple rotors, which adjust the speed of each rotor to control attitude and cruising. At the same time, the 16 rotors and key components such as flight control are designed with multiple backups, fully ensuring safety.". Even if a component fails during flight, its backup can be replaced in a timely manner to fully ensure flight safety
This is the world's first air taxi to obtain an airworthiness certificate, and for the first time, it has become a real product that can be ordered on e-commerce platforms worldwide.
He Tianxing, Vice President of Yihang Intelligence, said, "Yihang's Taobao store has just opened, but its service capabilities are already fully prepared. After placing an order, professional team services can be provided based on the purchasing situation of customers. We provide guarantees for everyone in urban airspace approval, flight route setting, aircraft maintenance, engineer training, and other aspects. In cities that meet current regulatory requirements, flights can be carried out."
It is reported that after launching its first unmanned manned aircraft in 2016, Yihang Intelligent Company has undergone various flight tests in different environments, including manned flights. In the past few years, this aircraft has completed over 45000 safe flights in 14 countries worldwide. "In addition to saving work time, it can now be widely used in tourism, manned transportation, logistics transportation, medical emergency and other scenarios." The staff of Yihang Intelligent Taobao Store introduced.
In 2023, EH216-S obtained the Type Certificate (TC) and Standard Airworthiness Certificate (AC) issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, becoming the world's first unmanned driving eVTOL to pass airworthiness certification and a global industry leader. According to the recent 2023 Q4 and full year performance reports released by EH.US, after obtaining TC and AC, the market demand for EH216-S has significantly increased, with quarterly delivery reaching the highest in three years and revenue increasing by 260.9% year-on-year. Another model of long range VT-30 aircraft product launched on Taobao's Yihang Intelligent Store has an air flight range of 300 kilometers and has completed all overall configuration verification and test flights. Airworthiness applications will also be conducted within this year, along with EH216-S, which is the first to obtain certification. The two products will cover all application scenarios for travel in low altitude economic cities in China.
"Compared to completing large-scale sales, entering Taobao Industrial Products is about introducing ourselves to consumers across the country. As a strategic emerging industry, China's technology products are undergoing rapid changes on the low altitude economy track. I believe that soon, each of us will have the opportunity to" fly "around in low altitude transportation at any time." He Tianxing expressed confidence.
It is understood that the "Sky Taxi" of Yihang's intelligent Taobao enterprise store received over a thousand inquiries in just 2 days, and the store's fans grew by nearly 10000. It may complete the first transaction on the e-commerce platform through Taobao.
Industry analysts believe that as a representative of new quality productivity, the low altitude economy is moving from popularization to implementation and inclusiveness. The "air taxi" launched by Taobao on Yihang is a new inventor who has encountered the National Market. The act of Taobao launching an air taxi itself is a solid step for society to take towards future low altitude free flight.